Pocket lighting device



(No Model.)

' W. W. MOKENNEY.

POCKET LIGHTING DEVICE.

I mvrol? ATTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. '2, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

l/VILLIAM \V. MCKENNEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y ASSIGNOR TO THE MAGIC INTRODUCTION COMPANY, OF N EYV JERSEY.

POCKET LIGHTING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 480,206, dated August 2, 1892.

Application filed October 2, 1891.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM W. MOKENNEY,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, haveinvent-ed certain new and useful Improvements in Pocket Lighting Devices, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates more particularly to that class of lighting devices which are provided with an inflammable wick, fuse, or tinder which is ignited by the explosion of pellets of fulminating material arranged upon a tape and which is unrolled and rewound within the casing of the device as the pellets are ignited; and the object of the invention is to provide a pocket lighting device, which shall be of small size, cheap of construction, and easy of operation, all of which is accomplished by constructing the device in the manner which is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, wherein similar numerals of reference designatelike or equivalent parts wherever found throughout the several views, and in which- Figure 1 represents a front view of my im proved pocket lighting device; Fig. 2, a back view of the same; Fig. 3, a view of the interior thereof with the cover removed and a roll of fresh fulminating tape inserted; Fig. 4, a like view with the cover partly removed and showing the fulminating tape nearly expended and rewound within the casing; Fig. 5, a view of the interior of the device on the line y y of Fig. 1, and Fig. 6 a detail of the tape holding and rewinding mechanism on an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that my improved lighting device consists, principally, of a casing or housing substantially circular in form, and the invention claimed involves only the details of construction which will now be described.

The casing or housing, within which are located the fulminate tape and a portion of theoperating mechanism, consists of a band 1 of any desired material, preferably circular in form, having secured thereto, near the edge Serial No. 407,520, (No model.)

thereof, or, if desired, formed integral therewith, a plate or side 2, which for convenience will be designated as the back, the front or cover 3 being of the same general form as the back 2, and being removably and pivotally attached thereto, as shown, or in any other convenient manner. At one side, which for convenience will be designated as the top, the circular band 1 is cut away, and at this point both the back 2 and front or cover 3 are provided with upwardly-extending portions 4, and attached to or formed integral with the extension 4 of the back 2 is a stud or support 5, upon which is preferably mounted a roller 6, which fills or nearly fills the space between the extensions 4 of the back 2 and front or cover 3, when the same are in position.

The means by which the front or cover 3 is pivotally and removably attached to the back 2 and band 1 consists of a pin or pivot 7, preferably secured to the back 2, which pin is provided with an elongated head or extension 8, and the cover or front 3 is provided with a circular opening 9, having an extension 10 of the same form as the head 8 of the pin 7.

The cover 3 is attached by holding it in the position shown in Fig. at and pressing it down until the pin 7, with its head 8, enters the opening 9, having the extension 10, when it is swung around until it assumes the position shown in Fig. 1, the form of the contact parts being such as to hold the cover in place by friction, while a lug 11 and a spring-catch 12, attached to or formed integral with the hand 1, also assist in holding said cover in place.

The back 2 is provided with a horizontal slot 13, on each side of which, inside and outside of the back 2, is arranged a plate 14. 0 The plates 14: fully cover the slot 13 and are held together by pins 15 and 16. At least one of these pins, preferably that designated as 16, is made revoluble and is provided with a thumb-piece 17 on the outside 5 of the casing, which is preferably hinged or pivoted to the head of the pin 16, which is also outside of the outer plate 14, the other end of the pin 16, as Well as that of the pin 15, extending a considerable distance into the interior of the casing, as shown. The construction and combination of the plates 1 1, the pins 15 and 16, and the thumb-piece 17 are shown on a slightly enlarged scale in Fig. 6. As thus constructed, the pins 15 and 16 slide freely along the slot 13 and the plates 14, being attached to or connected with said pins, also move freely back and forth over the slot, the pin 16 being, as hereinbefore stated, revolubly mounted in the plates l-i, so as to be at all times freely revoluble by means of the thumb-piece 17.

Secured to one side of the casing is a curved tubular holder 18, adapted to receive a wick, fuse, or tinder 19, and this holder is provided with a cover 20, which is connected with the wick and held in place by means of a small wire or chain 20'.

Secured to the front or cover 3 in any desired manner, but preferably by means of a screw-bolt 21, is a spring-scratcher 22, the top or free end of which is carried up and curved over, as shown best in Fig. 5, in such a manner as to cause the point thereof to come into contact, or nearly so, with the roller 6 when the front or cover is in position. To assist in holding the same in position, this scratcher 22 is also preferably provided with downwardlyprojecting points or lugs 23, which fit into corresponding holes in the front or cover 3 when the scratcher is in position, as shown in Fig. 1, and to facilitate the removal of the cover 3 the same is provided with a loop or thumb-piece 2&, if desired.

The operation of the device is as follows: The cover 3 being first removed, a roll of tape 25, provided with drops, bits, or pellets of explosive material or fulminates 26 upon its surface, is placed upon the stud or pin 15, as shown in Fig. 3, and the end thereof passed over the roller 6 and secured to the pin or stud 16, preferably, by slipping the same into a slot in the said pin. \Vhen in this position, the tape having been so rolled as to bring the pellets of fulminate 26 upon the outer side of the roll when the front or cover 3 is placed in position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the point of the scratcher 22 will press firmly upon the tape 25. The parts being in this position and it being desired to obtain a light, it is only necessary to draw out the wick 19 by taking hold of the cover 20 until the same is in the position shown in Fig. 3, when by turning the thumb-piece 17 the stud 16 will be rotated, and, winding upon itself, the tape 25 will draw the same from the stud 15, over the roller 6 and underneath the scratcher 22, the pellets or bits of explosive material or fulminate 26 being each ignited one by one as they pass beneath the point of the spring-scratcher 22 and the flash thereof igniting the wick, fuse, or tinder 19. As the tape is drawn from the stud 15 and rewound upon the stud or pin 16, the roll upon the latter as it grows larger, pressing against the band 1, forces the pin 16, together with the plates 11, to which it as well as the pin 15 are secured, toward the other side of the casing until,when the roll of tape is fully aihausted, it will be found to have assumed the position shown in Fig. 4, the pin 15 being seen to be nearest to the center of the casing when the fulminating tape is freshly inserted and the pin 16 being the nearest. thereto when the roll is nearly exhausted. By this form of construction, inasmuch as the fulminating tape is practically recoiled after being used in the same space which it occupied when first inserted,the casing maybe made much smaller than when the tape is rewound in a space other than first occupied by it.

It is essential to a proper working of the device that the spring-scratcher 22 should press firmly upon the tape as the same is drawn beneath it, and for this reason it has usually been rigidly attached to the main part of the casing. \Vhen so attached, however, it is necessary to pry up the point of the scratcher in order to remove the exhausted or insert fresh tape, which is, under all the circumstances, a clumsy operation. This difiiculty is overcome in the device shown and described herein by attaching the said scratcher 22 to the sliding cover, as the removal of the cover for the insertion or removal of tape from the casing also removes the sci-atelier from the support.

Although the invention as shown in the drawings is adapted only for use as a pocket lighting device, it is evident that by making slight changes in the construction thereof, but still preserving the essential features of theinvention, asherein described and claimed, the same may be adapted for uses other than that of pocket-lighters, and in application, Serial No. 407,521, filed October 2, 1891, simultaneously with this, I have shown one modification thereof, which may be attached to gas and oil burners for the purpose of igniting the same, and I do not intend to limit myself to the exact form of construction shown herein; but,

Having now fully described my invention, its construction and operation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A lighting device having a casing pr0- vided with means for holding and rewinding within itself a coil of tape consisting of apin or spindle upon which the coil of tape is mounted and a second pin or spindle which is revoluble, upon which the tape isrewound from the first spindle, both of said spindles being so mounted as to be capable of movement in a straight line, substantially at right angles to the axis thereof, as the tape is wound from the one upon the other, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, with the casing of a lighting device, one of the'walls of which is provided with a straight slot, of a revoluble pin or spindle mounted in said slot and adapted to slide along the same, means located upon the exterior of the casing for revolving said spindle, a spindle or support upon which a coil of tape provided with ignitible pellets may be mounted, which is capable of movement in the same direction as the revoluble pin or spindle, and means for igniting the pellets upon the tape one by one as the same is drawn from the supporting-spindle and rewound upon the revoluble spindle as the same is rotated, substantially as shown and de scribed.

3. A lighting device having means for holding and rewinding a roll of fulminatiug tape, consisting of a slot, as 13, in one wall of the device, the pins or spindles l5 and 16, adapted to slide in said slot, one of which is revoluble, the plates 14, in which the pins are mounted and by which they are held in position, the plates being also adapted to slide along the slot, and means for rotating the revoluble pin, substantially as shown and described.

4. In a lighting device, the combination, with a casing, of means located within the same for holding and rewinding therein a coil of fulminating tape, a support over which the tape is drawn to be rewound, a removable cover forming one side of the casing,-pivot ally attached to the main portion thereof in such manner as to be capable of being moved aside at right angles to the axis of the roll of tape Within the casing, so as to uncover the same, and a spring-scratcher secured to the cover in such manner that the point thereof will be brought into contact with the fulminating tape upon the support when the cover is in place on the casing, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a lighting device, the combination, with a casing forming a tape-chamber, means for holding and rewinding a coil of fulmin'ating tape located within the tape-chamber, a support secured to the casing, over which the tape is drawn in the operation of rewinding, and a spring-scratcher secured to the side of the casing opposite to that upon which the support is mounted, normally in contact with the fulminating tape upon the support when the casing is closed, the side of the casing to which such scratcher is attached being hinged or pivoted to the main portion of the casing in such manner as to be capable of being swung aside at right angles to the axis of the coils of tape Within the casing, so as to uncover the tape-chamber and remove the scratcher from the support, substantially as shown and described.

6. In a lighting device, the combination, with a casing, of a pin or spindle adapted to receive a coil of tape located therein, a second pin or spindle which is revoluble and adapted to rewind upon itself the tape from the other spindle when rotated, also located in such casing, both of said spindles being so mounted as to be capable of movement substantially at right angles to the axes thereof as the tape is wound from the one upon the other, a support over which the tape is drawn to be rewound, a removable cover forming one side of the casing, pivotally attached to the main portion thereof in such manner as to be capable of being moved aside at right angles to the axis the fulminating pellets of the tape upon the 7 support when the cover is in place on the casing, substantially as shown and described.

7. In a lighting device, the combination, with a casing, one of the walls of which is provided with a slot, of a revoluble pin or spindle mounted in said slot and adapted to slide along the same, means for rotating said spindle, located upon the exterior of the casing, a spindle or support upon which a coil of tape provided with pellets of fulminating material may be mounted, capable of movement in the same direction as is the revoluble spindle, also mounted Within the casing, a cover for the tape-chamber, formed by the casing, so pivoted thereto as to be capable of a sidewise sliding movement at substantially right an- 1 gles to the axes of the two spindles, a support over which the tape is drawn secured to the casing, and a spring-scratcher secured to the cover in such manner that when the cover is closed the point of the scratcher will come in contact with the tape as the same is drawn over the support, substantially as shown and described.

8. In a lighting device, the combination, withacasingformingatape-chamber, of means for holding and rewinding a coil of tape located within the tape-chamber, a support secured to the casing, over which the tape is drawnin the operation of rewinding, a pin, as 7, provided with an elongated head, as 8, secured to the casing, a cover provided with a substantially circular opening having an extension, as 10, of the same form as the elongation of the head of the pin 7, and a curved spring-scratcher secured to the cover in such manner that the point thereof will be in proximity to the support when the cover is closed, so as to explode the fulminating material upon the tape as the same is drawn over the support, the construction of the pin 7, head 8, and the cover being such that the cover may be entirely detached from the main portion of the casing when desired, substantially as shown and described.

9. In a lighting device, the combination, with a casing, one of the walls of which is provided with a slot, of a revoluble pin or spindle mounted in said slot and adapted to slide along the same, means for rotating said spindle, located upon the exterior of the casing, a spindle or support upon which a coil of tape provided with pellets of fulminating material may be mounted, capable of movement in the same direction as is the revoluble spindle, also mounted within the casing, a support secured to the casing, over which the tape is drawn in the operation of rewinding, a pin, as 7, provided with an elongated head, as 8, secured to the casing, a cover provided with a substantially circular opening, having an IIO extension, as 10, of the same form as the elongation of the head of the pin 7, and a curved spring-seratcher secured to the cover in such manner that the point thereof will be in proximity to the support when the cover is closed, so as to explode the f ulminating material upon the tape as the same is drawn over the support, the construction of the pin 7, head 8, and the cover being such that the cover may [0 be entirely detached from the main portion of the casing when desired, substantially shown and described.

Signed at the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, this 30th day of September, A. D. 1891.

XVILLIAH \V. IWCKENNEY.

lVitnesses:

RAYMOND BAYLIs, O. L. DAVIS. 

